Nov. 1, 2002 - The National Football League's top brass is putting the pinch on Jacksonville Super Bowl organizers because they haven't signed up enough hotels for the 2005 event. 

Without places to put guests, the league could take its massive event of 100,000 visitors elsewhere. And NFL senior vice president Jim Steeg, who essentially runs the Super Bowl, has seen only four hotel contracts -- and no cruise ship deals -- from Jacksonville, and said he needs more. And soon. 

A year from now, the league might look elsewhere, he suggested. 

"Got no place to house the teams, got no place to house the media, guess you don't need to have the game," said Steeg, who will meet Nov. 18 with local officials to check on plans. 

The league and organizers anticipate needing about 11,000 hotel rooms besides using 6,000 rooms on cruise ships for visitors associated with the league, such as media and corporate sponsors. Because the city is a relatively small market and a first-time host, lining up hotels and cruise ships has become a top priority. 

Local organizers say they essentially have agreements for 6,000 rooms, and the outstanding deals simply have not crossed Steeg's desk for final approval. Deals with the Adam's Mark, Omni, Hilton and Radisson hotels downtown have gone to Steeg, said Michael Kelly, president of the Jacksonville Super Bowl Host Committee. 

Hoteliers aren't trying to hold out on signing the contracts, said Joe Hockenbury, general manager of the Radisson Riverwalk Hotel and president of the Jacksonville Hotel and Motel Association. Until recently, he said, no one had stressed how important the contracts were to Super Bowl planners. 

Since the local Convention and Visitors' Bureau -- which is helping organizers sign up hotels -- has increased the pressure, contracts are being signed, he said. 

"There wasn't a sense of urgency in the beginning, but we've let everyone know that it's to our benefit to come together and unify all the hotels," he said. 

That still leaves more than 80 hotel deals that need to be finished, Kelly said. He predicts those and the deals for up to 12 cruise ships will be done by Dec. 31. "It's just a little bit slower than we've expected," Kelly said. 

The Sawgrass Marriott Resort and the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island deals have yet to be officially approved by Steeg. Both are expected to serve as regional hubs, and the NFL owners are expected at the Ritz-Carlton. Representatives from both hotels did not return calls seeking comment. 

And the league has organized a cruise ship trip from Miami Nov. 10 for potential major sponsors in 2005, but Jacksonville doesn't have any cruise liners under contract. 

Steeg attributed the delay to some hotels seeking more money for rooms, and others figuring they're going to sell out anyway because of the marquee event. Kelly, acknowledged that fear, but also said hotels just are not used to the minutiae of such a large event. 

"We need to turn around at this point, bring all the hotels together in the room and tell them," sign it,'" Steeg said. 

When Jacksonville won its bid for the game two years ago, area hotels sent letters committing to provide rooms that week. The NFL approved the plan. But other host cities have included hotel contracts in their bids, which Steeg said is the usual approach. 

For example, nearly 98 percent of the deals have been struck for the 2006 Detroit game, Steeg said. 

But the league also changed terms of its contracts after giving the game to Jacksonville, and local organizers said they did not receive them until May 14. Either way, they'd be working on new contracts, Kelly noted. 

Times-Union business writer Timothy Gibbons contributed to this report. 

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(c) 2002, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.